Wednesday, December 4, 2013

IWSG: What's Your Flavor?


Welcome to first Wednesday, our typical Support Group Meeting Date for Insecure Writers!

I'm Hart, and I'm insecure.

[Hi Hart]

You know what I like?
Peanut butter and dill pickles on toasted whole wheat with a big glass of skim milk.

You know who else likes this?
In my life I've met maybe half a dozen, one of them I gave birth to, another gave birth to me. Far more think I'm really strange.


Know what else I like?
Pizza.

Know who else likes pizza?
Pretty much everybody who isn't lactose intolerant. I mean SURE we all have different toppings preferences (don't you DARE put pineapple on my pizza!) (and really REALLY don't you dare not put ANYTHING but cheese... pizza is all ABOUT toppings.) But see that is the thing... pretty much EVERYONE likes SOME sort of pizza.


So let's just say genres are food. And there is interesting exotic food that some people really love and other people really hate. (historic fiction or fantasy maybe)

And there are genres MANY like, but MANY do not... call it hamburgers... Genre fiction... food for the masses, unpalatable to some, but a regular meal for many...


There are foods like fois gras for the very refined palate... call it poetry... and grilled cheese that EVERYBODY likes some of, though some people (mostly young) like almost exclusively (Dr. Seuss)...


But the REAL point is MOST people like to mix it up SOME, but prefer one TYPE over OTHER types and dislike a few...

I will eat (and read) most stuff, though some of it in certain ways... I loved a lot of sweets as a kid... now I prefer they have some bitterness, zest, nuts or something else to mix them up... just like how I like romance... with some bitterness, zest or nuts to mix it up...


And what we WRITE also follows these rules... maybe we like to bake, or make soups (I am a one pot meal gal with a little of everything all at once... like those complicated books I like to write)


But at any given time, on the bestseller list, 6 of 10 are usually THRILLERS... I think Thrillers are our pizza. And just like with pizza, they always seem a lot better when made by a pro at a high end place. I REALLY REALLY want to be able to make the BEST pizza... Maybe that garlic sauce vegetarian one Papa Murphy's sells that everyone looks at funny and then says “OHMYGAWD that's the best pizza I ever had!” And try and try as I do to get it right, it just isn't quite the same. I can't get past the Boboli version... it has enough cheese and great toppings, but it's still... you know... not quite authentic.


So what food are YOUR books?
Do you like to stick to mostly one type, or mix it up?
Anything you avoid?
Anything you really WISH you could make?


23 comments:

Trisha said...

Daaaamnnn youuuu! Now I want pizza! I want pizza real bad.

I am definitely a pick & mix girl - and I HATE pineapple on my pizza as well. And now I'm wondering ... What do you think would constitute a book that is a pizza with pineapple on it?

stu said...

I actually don't like pizza, but I take your point about thrillers. I keep meaning to write one, but it always seems to acquire elves. And jokes.

Diana Wilder said...

Y'know, I was wondering where this was going, and now that I've arrived I am smiling and nodding and saying 'yep. She's right.'

I have a couple, but I wonder if they are more like pizza with cream sauce and chicken. Hm. I'll start writing romances. What're they? meringues?

Great post!
Diana at About Myself By Myself

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

I think you're right...thrillers are definitely pizza. People *get* thrillers. And, actually, there is enough variety with thrillers (psychological, gory, milder) that we can choose what toppings we like. Not positive I could write one, though, although I plan on trying one day.

Wendy Tyler Ryan said...

I love peanut butter and dill pickle sandwiches. I would get made fun of when I took them to school for lunch. And that sums up my writing - sometimes putting things together that aren't the norm!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Genre as food - I like the analogy, Hart. I wonder what pasta would be?

I like an all-vegan pizza, and I'm sure that's unique.

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

Now I'm just hungry and really want pizza, even though it's still morning and I've only had one cup of coffee…. What were we talking about it? Oh, genres.

I tend to write dark stuff, some contemporary, some horror. But I read a number of genres, ones I wish I could write in but don't seem to work all that well when I put pen to paper.

Still hungry….

Hart Johnson said...

Trisha- Pizza with pineapple... maybe Hmmm hard to unconfound not LIKING this... the only thrillers I don't like tend to be really technical (Tom Clancy can be too technical for me--not always, but sometimes)... but technical and pineapple don't really go...

Stu-Oh, don't leave out the jokes! I think humor can totally MAKE a really dark tense book!

Diana-LOVE the creme sauce pizzas!

Elizabeth-you're definitely right on the variety!

Wendy--A kindred spirit!!!

Diane-I am going with pasta as chick lits... most guys would say it's not dinner, but women tend to love it!

Madeline-horror is another of those love it or hate it... a daring palate maybe we'll put it in Hungary an Romania with the werewolves and vampires!

Nissa Annakindt said...

My 'flavor' preference in books changes over time. I read some romance novels, mostly historical romance in my childhood and teen years, but gave that up and haven't read romance in decades (I'm older than dirt. Thank goodness.)

But lately I've started reading Gothic romance, and, almost on a dare, the Amish romance of Beverly Lewis, and though it is sorely lacking in zombies, space aliens and explosions, I've enjoyed it.

Nissa

Unknown said...

I love science fiction to the point where, while I like reading other stuff, I often find myself wishing that a non-SF story had a sci fi element. Non-SF stories are like plain pizza...missing something (like mushrooms or robots).

Michelle Wallace said...

I always thought I would LOVE to write a suspense/thriller.
I love to read them.
Poetry is my first love, but has since been ousted by flash fiction.
Peanut butter on bread is delicious. Never let's you down.
I'm not really a pizza person though... but I love pasta.
Suspense/thriller/poetry/pasta/pizza/peanut butter... now I'm confused. LOL
Can you help? What food are my books?
Writer In Transit

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I like Oriental food with lots of spice. The hotter the better!
That's not how I write though. Bummer.

Michael Di Gesu said...

I'm like you Hart… I love mixing things up. And ever since the A-Z challenge last year when I did intros for blogger buddies books I realized that I like to write in many different styles as LONG as the atmosphere is there for me, I can write in most genres well.

LOVED your pizza analogy. Wouldn't we all like to hit that recipe just right!

You are well on your way. With several books published and you zest for the unpredictable and unusual, you are bound for creating that perfect pizza!

Sarah Ahiers said...

well crap. Now i want pizza and foie gras (mmmmm). But not a pickle peanut butter samich. That just sounds... well.

Also, i literally LOLd at "just like how I like romance... with some bitterness, zest or nuts to mix it up..."

David T List said...

Very interesting analogy. I'll read most anything written well. But I prefer to write fantasy. Regardless of how popular a choice it is... I guess it's similar to when my family and I go to a Japanese restaurant. I am the one who orders a plate of raw fish. Everyone else looks at me like 0_0

David List - Regarding Silexare

Helena said...

Wow! I'm a pizza writer! And one who likes pineapple and Canadian bacon. Or Molte Carne (major meat).

Funny, I can read a lot of different genres -- well not much fantasy -- but I'm a picky eater. Love peanut butter too, but with dill pickles. Gross.

Anonymous said...

OMG I LOVE GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES! Yeah, that required cap locks. I think my pizza genre is young adult. I love the majority of it, but especially like it with monsters.

Unknown said...

Okay, now I'm hungry--thanks for that! ;)

I like the food analogy--and I'm a little tempted to try the pickle/peanut butter sandwich...

J.L. Campbell said...

Nice comparison food/reading/writing experience. I like me some romance at the the top of my list, but I read in other genres as well.

Megan Bostic said...

My books must be like taffy. It's hard to eat, but worth getting stuck in your teeth.

I tend to stick with that, contemporary fiction based on teen social issues that people don't like to talk about.

Anything I avoid. Hell no! Nothing is off limits to me. Chocolate covered crickets, monkey brains, it's all good.

I want to make a lot of stuff. Things people like, the pizza of writing, the ice cream of writing, the cupcakes of writing, yes, even the delicacies of writing, and maybe someday I will. (like I plan on writing a dystopian series a book from now). But for now, I have three teen social issues books on the plate, one being edited, one revised, one I'm writing. So more taffy before I get to the cupcakes.

Charity Bradford said...

Hah! Great post. If my brain weren't fried I might be able to figure out what food my genre is. Maybe it's a chocolate dipped fish taco with an avocado pomegranate salsa.

Eww. No wonder I'm having trouble marketing. LOL.

Suzanne said...

I love pizza, even before it was so popular (Italian roots). Um,dill and pickle? Might try it, I think my style would be pizza, a good solid base to the story with different flavours spreading all over it! Now gotta go eat LOL!
Suzanne @ Suzannes Tribe
x

Jeremy Bates said...

hey hart!
im going to try peanut butter and pickles right now! it actually sounds good! lol